


Day 4: On a Date

by MajestyTime



Series: 30 Day OTP challenge (Asheiji) [4]
Category: Banana Fish (Anime & Manga)
Genre: 30 Day OTP Challenge, Butterflies, Dinner, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Light Angst, M/M, Restaurants
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-04
Updated: 2019-10-04
Packaged: 2020-11-24 00:35:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,056
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20898737
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MajestyTime/pseuds/MajestyTime
Summary: Ash and Eiji go out to eat.





	Day 4: On a Date

**Author's Note:**

> This is a continuation of the last oneshot (Day 3) but you can still read this as a standalone oneshot.
> 
> Also, I'm sorry about the first conversation. I was short on time and couldn't think of a good starting point. The oneshot gets better towards the end.

Today, the sky was a beautiful bubblegum blue, streaked with white and gray cotton candy clouds. Ash frowned as he thought about what happened yesterday. He and Eiji had watched a scary movie together, whuch on its own would be fine, if it weren't for the fact that the two of them decided to have a little competition in which whoever got visibly scared first would lose and have to buy the other person dinner. Surprisingly, Ash had lost, and now he owed Eiji a meal. Ash didn't mind buying Eiji dinner (that was sort of a plus). What bothered Ash was how easily he got scared. The movie had brought a tidal wave of memories back to Ash. Memories of grisly murders, of gruesome torture, of horrible nights in bed with digusting men.

Ash shakes his head, shoving the thoughts out of his head. He doesn't want to re-live any of those horrible memories, so he stands up and walks over to the living room where Eiji is sat on the sofa, reading some manga. Ash leans against the wall and closes his eyes, trying to get his heart to stop skipping beats as he thinks about what he wants to say. Though he's been through a lot, Ash knows that's no excuse, and he should be stronger. Ash isn't just protecting himself anymore; He has a cute Japanese boyfriend–er, _boy_–to take care of as well.

"Ash!" Eiji says, making Ash open his eyes to look at Eiji. "What are you doing?"

"Um..." Ash trails off as he thinks of something to say. His whole body becomes perfectly still as he speaks. "I'm just tired."

Eiji frowns slightly, immediately picking up on the lie. He stomach churned as he wondered why Ash was lying to him. Surely they were close enough for Ash to tell Eiji the truth? No, that can't be it. They had been threw hell and back together; there was no way Ash didn't trust him. Danger, then? Was someone using Eiji as blackmail again? Were they being watched right now?!

Eiji bit the inside of his cheek. He was definitely overthinking this. Eiji decides not to call Ash out on his lie. He didn't want to start an argument or bog down the mood on such a beautiful Friday afternoon.

"If you're tired, then sleep. Don't complain to me," Eiji scolds jokingly, making an exaggerated angry expression.

Ash rolls his eyes at Eiji's exagerrated show and fails to stop the small smile from creeping up onto his face. Eiji focuses on Ash's smile and lets a smile form on his own face.

"I'm so sorry, Onii-san," Ash says sarcastically, his arms crossed.

Eiji giggles and Ash's heart flutters at the sight. Eiji sitting there on the sofa, his book still open on his lap, his shoulders shaking along with his hair as he laughs, his pink and smooth lips stretched into a smile. It was all too much for Ash, and the words burst out of his chest.

"Doyouwanttogetdinnerwithme?" Ash says in one hurried breath. His nails dug into the skin of his arms as he waited for Eiji's answer.

Eiji's laughter fades as he settles down, a smile still lingering on his face. "What?"

"Do you..." Ash stops, flustered by the butterflies swarming his stomach. It was just dinner. Why was he feeling more nervous around Eiji than usual? Maybe it was the fact that asking Eiji to grab dinner with him sounds like Ash is asking Eiji on a date. Ash looks away as he finally spits the words out properly.

"Do you want to grab dinner together?" Ash says, forcing himself to make eye contact with Eiji. "Outside at a restaurant, I mean. My treat."

The butterflies in Ash's stomach flap their wings harder as he watches Eiji's smile grow even wider. There's an echo of laughter in his words. "Sure, but we should split the bill."

"No," Ash shakes his head. "I lost yesterday, remember?"

Eiji's smile morphs into a small frown as he processes Ash's words. "That doesn't matter–"

"It's fine," Ash sighs, walking over to the door with his keys in his hand. "Get dressed and let's go."

Eiji frowns but stays silent, walking over to their bedroom to change before leaving.

[]

Ash and Eiji ended up going to an Italian restaurant together. Ash was tense as they walked to their destination, keeping his eyes peeled for any danger. The sight made Eiji feel a mixtures of warmth and sadness.

_Someday, I'll make Ash a home where he never has to be afraid again,_ Eiji thought to himself as they entered the restaurant.

"Table for two?" The woman at the front asks. Ash nods and the woman leads them to a table in the back. Ash and Eiji sit across from each other. The whole restaurant was dimly lit with candles and the floors and tables were made of dark wood. A circular bar was sat in the middle of the restaurant with a crystal chandelier hanging above it. The restaurant was quiet with low chatter and there were only a few empty tables.

"This place is so pretty!" Eiji exclaims softly, not wanting to disturb the other quiet customers. He looks around the room in his seat, his brown eyes wide and infinite, like pools of chocolate crashing around endlessly inside his iris.

"Yeah," Ash replies, his chin resting on top of his palm which was propped up by the table. He studied Eiji, unable to peel his eyes away from Eiji's soft features.

A waitress comes to their table, rattles off the regular pleasantries, and places the menus on the table before walking away to tend to another customer.

Ash and Eiji both take a menu and start to look it over. Ash asks, "What do you want?"

Eiji frowns as he reads the menu. "Ash, the food here seems a bit expensive..."

"Don't worry about the price, Eiji," Ash replies, smirking. "It's my treat, remember?"

"But..."

"Eiji, if you don't order anything, I'm going to order for you."

Eiji can't help but be coy for a moment despite his concern over the pricing. "And what would you order for me?"

"Everything," Ash replies, his expression relaxing, a smooth grin on his face. Eiji can't help but let out a soft laugh.

"I wouldn't be able to eat everything in the restaurant," Eiji says, raising an eyebrow.

"I'd make you try everything," Ash counters, nonchanlantly taking a sip of his water. "You'd have to have a bite of every single dish."

"There's so much food on the menu," Eiji starts. "And so little space on the table. Where would all the food go?" 

"Um, we'd just use all the empty tables near us," Ash says as if it's the most obvious thing in the world. He rolls his eyes as he speaks, humor still tugging his lips upwards.

The thought of dishes everywhere in the restaurant makes Eiji laugh even more. Before he could reply, the waitress from before comes back to their table.

"Are you ready to order?" She asks, patiently standing and waiting.

"Yes," Ash replies. Ash and Eiji both say what dishes they want. Ash expertly pronounces all the Italian words whereas Eiji stumbles over them. The feeling of embarrassment still lingers with Eiji as the waitress walks away.

Ash and Eiji suddenly find themselves at a loss for words. Ash's heart pounds as the butterflies from before awaken within his stomach. He struggles to come up with something to say as his mind screams _It's not a date It's not a date It's not a date_ over and over again. Eiji is the one to break the silence.

"Can I tell you about the manga I was reading?" Eiji asks, sitting up in his seat.

"Sure," Ash replies, leaning back against his chair.

"Well, it's called My Villain Academia and it's about teenagers who go to a school to train to become villains and..." Eiji's gaze shifts around as he speaks. At first, he stared into Ash's deep jade eyes but the way Ash was looking him, his eyes serious and attentive as if he were truly absorbing every single syllable that was rolling off of Eiji's tongue, was starting to fluster Eiji and so he shifted his gaze towards Ash's mouth. Ash's lips looked soft and plush like velvet, and were slightly chapped. His lips were slightly parted and Eiji watched the way they moved whenever Ash responded to something Eiji had said. The way his lips pursed and the way they sometimes circled into a soft 'o' was making Eiji flush. Why do his lips look so soft and cracked at the same time? Did Ash use lip balm? If Eiji pressed his lips against Ash's, what would it feel like? If Eiji dragged his tongue against Ash's lips, would he be able to taste the remnants of some fruity lip balm–?

"Eiji, are you listening?" Ash asks, leaning forward slightly. Eiji laughs nervously and averts his eyes before responding.

"Y-Yes, I am," Eiji stammers. Just then, the waitress comes over with their food and Eiji thanks all of the Japanese gods for this distraction. The delicious aroma of the cheesy pasta and pizza laid out in front of them made Eiji's stomach growl. Ash chuckled as Eiji blushed at the noise, and the two of them quickly dug in. They devour the meal, finishing in less than 20 minutes flat.

"Check please," Ash calls as Eiji sinks into his seat.

"That was delicious," Eiji sighs, his eyes wide and dreamy. Ash hums in agreement. The waitress brings the check over and promptly leaves. Eiji's eyes widen at the numbers on the check. Both Ash and Eiji take out their wallets.

"Let me pay, Ash," Eiji says, sitting up straight in his seat.

"No way," Ash replies, pulling out several twenty-dollar bills from his pocket. "This was my treat."

"Forget about the stupid game, Ash!" Eiji cries. "At least let me pay half!"

"Nope," Ash says, shaking his head. He takes out his phone to calculate the tip for the waitress. "And this isn't about the bet from yesterday. I just wanted to treat you to something nice."

"Ash..." Eiji says, and the sound of his name from Eiji lips was sweeter and softer than anything Ash has ever heard in his life. He looks away from Eiji and scribbles on the receipt, butterflies going crazy again.

Suddenly, Eiji grabs the black leather receipt holder and drags it away from Ash. He lets out a noise of protest as Eiji pulls the receipt holder towards himself. Eiji sticks his tongue out at Ash and starts to pull money out of his wallet when suddenly Ash grabs Eiji's wallet out of his hands. Eiji lets out a surprised noise as the receipt holder gets taken away from him as well.

"You can't pay for the meal if you don't have your wallet," Ash says, teasingly sticking his tongue out at Eiji as he places the money inside and swiftly shuts the leather holder.

"Ash," Eiji whines, dragging out the 'a' and the 'sh' in his name. His lips form a pout which sends the stupid butterflies in Ash's stomach into a frenzy. They crash around inside him, begging to burst forth and swarm his nervous system, making him lose control and do things he would never normally do, like grabbing Eiji and holding him tight as he leans forward and brushes his lips against–

Ash shoves those thoughts away and hands the waitress the leather holder. Ash stands up with Eiji and walks out of the restaurant with him. The cool night breeze makes their clothes flutter, and Eiji slides his fingers between Ash's. The contact makes electricity spark through him, making Ash quickly pull his hand away as if he had been burned. Eiji's eyes widen.

"Sorry, I just–" Eiji doesn't get to finish as Ash wraps his arm around Eiji's shoulders and pulls Eiji close to him, their bodies side-by-side.

"I was just surprised, don't worry," Ash says, looking away. Eiji's heart skips a beat. He holds onto Ash's hand which hangs loosely over his shoulder and smiles, his heart soaring. They walk home together underneath the pitch black sky, butterflies exploding within them.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Leave a kudos if you liked (∩_∩)


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